Faso’s Super PAC Already On The Air for Stefanik

The new Super PAC that 2006 GOP gubernatorial nominee John Faso has launched is already on the air with a TV ad supporting one of two Republican congressional candidates vying for the seat being vacated by Democratic NY-21 Rep. Bill Owens.

Faso declined to say which – if any – candidates his New York 2014 committee is backing. But a source familiar with airtime purchases in the North Country forwarded a copy of the ad that appears below, which makes it clear that New York 2014 has chosen sides in the district’s GOP primary.

Stefanik is a political newcomer who is battling businessman Matt Doheny for the GOP line. Doheny, as you’ll recall, ran unsuccessfully for the seat twice before. Stefanik has the Conservative Party line, and Doheny has the Independence Party line, which means both of them could continue on into the general election as a potential spoiler after losing the June 24 primary.

The pro-Stefanik ad calls her a “new generation conservative,” and says she was “born and raised in upstate New York,” but doesn’t specify where, exactly, she grew up. (It was not in the district, though her family has a second home in Willsboro). The buy, according to my source, is about $70,000, split with about $56,000 in the Albany market and $13,000 for Burlington, VT broadcast and cable. The ad went up yesterday and is scheduled to run through June 2.

Here’s the script:

“To shake up Congress, we have to send new people. Elise Stefanik, a new generation conservative. Born and raised in upstate New York, Stefanik fought for conservative victories alongside President Bush and Paul Ryan, then came back to the North Country and her family’s small business. Elise’s agenda: repeal Obamacare, cut spending, bring jobs to our area. Elise Stefanik, someone we can be proud of in Congress.”

North Country Public Radio hit piece on Elise Stefanik caused quite a stir in NNY today out Watertown way titled:.“NY21: Is Elise Stefanik a fresh new voice or a carpetbagger? by Brian Mann, who reported that out of 15 people asked about her, no one knew her in Willsboro in Essex County. Big deal! This hit job piece gives no details about who these people were, etc. Still the NCPR has long tentacles in NNY and it’s going to cost theStefanik campaign some money to address this issue quickly.

Elise Stefanik is a Harvard Girl: So quit letting Matt Doheny dumb down the content in the race Elise. A guy like Matt Doheny wants to talk local and to him that means ‘I grew up in A-Bay on High Street.” It doesn’t mean I owned a business here, and earned my money here, or employed people here.Well Matt that isn’t local at all
career wise. No you’re local when you’re a guy like Doug Hoffman who earned his bones in North Country running his own biz for years and paying locals who worked for him.

The same is true of Representative Bill Owens who grew up down-state, but chose to hang his Shingle as a Lawyer in the Eastern part of the District, and raise a family rather than choosing to earn a quick buck on Wall Street. Mr. Owens could have chose the quicker lucrative money available in a NYC practice. Yes Matt, that was an option for him, but he wanted to be close to his kids while they grew up. You know Matt, catch a little league game, and cheer the kids on in person. Matt Doheny, instead saw the big money opportunity on Wall Street and bailed on NNY for over a decade, and the reason he came back was to run for Congress.

Matt”s done nothing to speak to the real issues we the Middle Class face herein NNY in several campaigns. Elsie Stefanik doesn’t have to treat this silly Doheny campaign commentary about where she grew up as though it’s really all that important. On the other hand what is important to focus on, is addressing the real concerns man and men have, in this district who are struggling to make ends meet. An that’s a serious topic. A topic the Harvard Gal has to get Matt Doheny to address, and not let Mr. Doheny dumb down the conversation.

I’m counting on her to do just that the last five weeks of the Primary. Matt Doheny has run 3 times and still hasn’t offered anything that approaches a coherent economic development plan for NNY. He makes little, or no effort, to address the aspirations of Woman in this District. Matt’s clearly here to represent Wall Street, and not Main Street, and Elise Stefanik has to make that clear to
everyone.

Mike Flynn ‘Middle Class Mike’

Mike Flynn

“David Catalfamo Tipped His Hand”

Mayor Graham rightly points out that Mr. Catalfamo is trying to set the table, for what we’re loosely calling a ‘Debate’ but what the Mayor is obviously concerned might degenerate into sand bagging Elise S…tefanik by journalist who seem to be tilting towards Matt Doheny. That word ‘Tilt’ keeps popping up in this Republican Primary doesn’t it. The tilted WDT photo of Aaron Woolf, and the tilted Op-Ed pieces by the WDT, and now culminated by the tilted interview by NCPR, Brian Mann. I’ve seen John Moore in action and if he’s in the mix Elise Stefanik better be ready to dedicate five minutes to the tilted version of his latest version of theatre of the absurd, after Moore under the guise of using humor tries to set her up with some lame off-beat question like he did to candidate Steve Jennings during the Council race last election. But beyond all the early pre debate intrigue we may have seen Mr. Catalfamo tipped his hand too early in this Primary.

How today’s little gambit with the NCPR plays with me is as follows:

With the WDT and Post Star Editorial Boards already in his pocket, Matt Doheny had to use a willing Brian Mann to run a hit job item at Elise Stefanik driving home the absurd notion –‘She’s a Carpetbagger, that no one knows in neighborhood. Well if name recognition is really Stefanik’s problem – I don’t for minute think it is—then Matt’s name and the baggage associated with it may be too well known in the District and Elise needs to point that out
at the debate, and how it will hurt GOP chances to win in the General.

Beyond all that though is the fact that we have with a month to go entered what David Catalfamo feels is his sweet zone – the negative campaign phase of the Primary. Mr. Catalmao is throwing caution to the winds now—nothing to lose their not going to successfully compete for moderate votes so why not force Stefanik to go ugly and turn off the moderates she needs to impress to win big? After all Matt Doheny going negative isn’t going to turn off his red meat supporters, who love going negative in their rhetoric. Don’t get me wrong Elise can counter punch no problem, but she needs to do it in a way that doesn’t draw her into the David Catalfamo trap of –“Force her to go negative too, and that will turn off the Centrist Republicans she needs to want to go vote for her, instead it’ll turn them off and won’t bother to go vote period; in what’s expected to be a low turn-out Republican Primary.

The handbook says you can bring your Poll numbers up if you go negative enough, long enough against an opponent looking to send a positive message. It’s risky format to try this, because Matt is already dealing with some real negatives of his own, that we’re all familiar with here and which the Stefanik camp can start to bring up and campaign against at any time the remainder of the Primary.

It’s better to wait and not turn off those moderates Elise, and it might be fun to punish Mr. Catalfamo by staying positive and refusing to play his Cat & Mouse game of drawing you into going negative early. The moderate vote you’ll attract if you show more Centrist views than Mr. Doheny is your ticket to a double digit victory. No one will ever accuse you of having poor name recognition with voters Elise, after you beat Matt Doheny by double digits this Primary.